Bob! WTF?!? You thought the third Harry Potter was good? I have only seen the first 3, and while the first 2 are completely shit, the 3rd one makes them look like 'best movie of all time' contenders. It's funny how you can nail some movies so perfectly, and let other trash slide. Signs was garbage too.
Escape to the Movies: The Last Airbender
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You missed the whole "was frozen in ice" party of Aang's back story, and uhm... the costumes were good? Really? It's to the point where I just watch this crap ironically or to piss off my friends who I force to watch it with me. Someone please can this failure.
Weird, I expected a lot worse. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I assumed it would be more disappointing than what was said in the video. Mostly because I have no respect for m. Night Shyamalan... But whatever.
Ok Bob, I gave it a shot like you asked and now I feel bad for spending money on that piece of tripe. I can see the good parts you pointed out, but Shyamadingbat still did a horrible job when when just gauging the Last Airbender as a film.
To quote Ain't it Cool News, "The Last Airbender is so outrageously bad it's a wonder it ever got before cameras"
To quote Ain't it Cool News, "The Last Airbender is so outrageously bad it's a wonder it ever got before cameras"
Everyone is missing a crucial point with why this movie is bad. Look at all of Night's movie before the Last Airbender.
How many of those movies have fight scenes using martial arts [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796117/#writer1990]? As far as I can see none.
If I were going make a Kung Fu movie which the Last Airbend basically is or at least should have been, wouldn't it make sense to have a director with experience making that genre of movie on the project.
Ang Lee, Rob Minkoff, any number of other talented experienced kung fu movie directors would have been much for this movie than Mr.Shyamalan.
And trying to condense 10 hours of story, character development, and plot development from the first season of the series into 90 mins was just foolhardy.
First movie should have tried to accomplish these things alone:
1. Introduce develop and start the hero journeys of the four main characters, Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka.
2. Demonstrate Aang's playful nature and free spirit upbringing, Katara desire to learn waterbending, Zuko's desire for approval from his farther, and Sokka's ability as warrior.
The first movie should have ended when they reached the Northern Water Tribe after Aang and Katara start training in waterbending. This first movie should have been them going on adventures that educates the audience on everything they need to know to understand the rest of the story.
In other words it should have primarily been exposition and introduction to the main conflict of the series, that's 10 hours worth of adventures they tried to cram into 90 mins.
This movie fails on so many levels he even admits to using people who didn't know how to act because they had martial arts experience. I'm sorry but that's just ass backwards, you can train a good actor for a year to be competent in martial arts but that doesn't mean the opposite is true, which this movie proves.
And if casting was really such an issue why didn't he just age the characters a few years? It's what the David Lynch director of "Dune"1984 and John Harrison Director of "Dune" 2000 did when they need a better talent pool.
Making Aang 16 instead of 12 wouldn't have a huge impact on the story or really alienate an audience and would be an understandable if not fan supported decision. I'm willing to bet that if Uwe Bolly had made this movie it would have been better.
How many of those movies have fight scenes using martial arts [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796117/#writer1990]? As far as I can see none.
If I were going make a Kung Fu movie which the Last Airbend basically is or at least should have been, wouldn't it make sense to have a director with experience making that genre of movie on the project.
Ang Lee, Rob Minkoff, any number of other talented experienced kung fu movie directors would have been much for this movie than Mr.Shyamalan.
And trying to condense 10 hours of story, character development, and plot development from the first season of the series into 90 mins was just foolhardy.
First movie should have tried to accomplish these things alone:
1. Introduce develop and start the hero journeys of the four main characters, Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka.
2. Demonstrate Aang's playful nature and free spirit upbringing, Katara desire to learn waterbending, Zuko's desire for approval from his farther, and Sokka's ability as warrior.
The first movie should have ended when they reached the Northern Water Tribe after Aang and Katara start training in waterbending. This first movie should have been them going on adventures that educates the audience on everything they need to know to understand the rest of the story.
In other words it should have primarily been exposition and introduction to the main conflict of the series, that's 10 hours worth of adventures they tried to cram into 90 mins.
This movie fails on so many levels he even admits to using people who didn't know how to act because they had martial arts experience. I'm sorry but that's just ass backwards, you can train a good actor for a year to be competent in martial arts but that doesn't mean the opposite is true, which this movie proves.
And if casting was really such an issue why didn't he just age the characters a few years? It's what the David Lynch director of "Dune"1984 and John Harrison Director of "Dune" 2000 did when they need a better talent pool.
Making Aang 16 instead of 12 wouldn't have a huge impact on the story or really alienate an audience and would be an understandable if not fan supported decision. I'm willing to bet that if Uwe Bolly had made this movie it would have been better.
omg wtf!? how could it have been that hard to explain? FFS! THEY EXPLAIN THE WHOLE PREMISE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES IN THE 30 SECOND OPENING CREDITS OF EACH EPISODE!!!
I mean, I'll be the first to say that Avatar the last air bender was one of the most compact shows I've ever seen. like I can't think of a single ep I would consider a "filler ep" but too bad! so that just means you have to ignore some bits completely! They do it all the time! how many times have you heard "oh the book was better, they completely skipped this and that from the book" it HAS to be done!
It is such a shame to here what should have been an awesome film and a beginning to an awesome franchise ruined by some technical mistake like that.
I mean, I'll be the first to say that Avatar the last air bender was one of the most compact shows I've ever seen. like I can't think of a single ep I would consider a "filler ep" but too bad! so that just means you have to ignore some bits completely! They do it all the time! how many times have you heard "oh the book was better, they completely skipped this and that from the book" it HAS to be done!
It is such a shame to here what should have been an awesome film and a beginning to an awesome franchise ruined by some technical mistake like that.
With such a short run time, I think you have to pick who you're catering to. And let's be honest, with the rating a parent will not need to escourt their children assuming the grew up with the cartoon, and even if they do, it's not like it will be the first movie they couldn't care less about that they've been dragged to.misterprickly said:
And sticking very close to the source material is a dangerous game to play. Just look at the Watchmen - a movie that almost literally used the graphic novel as it's storyboard. While well recieved by most, many of the fans of the graphic novel were outraged at ommissions, oversights, changes and so forth. Getting "close" means you at least tried but just look through this thread for all the people who assert it wasn't "close enough".
The bottom line here is pretty simple in my book - unless this movie is commerical successful, there won't be a sequel. The decisions that were made will reduce the chances of commercial success. Many fans are outraged, most critics thought it was abysmal and the only hope for success seems to lie in the "Well I loved the cartoon so I have to see it even if it is terrible" line of thinking.
the way bob explains it i dont think it will be enjoyeble for the fans of the originalAlar said:
i myself are a big fan, and the beaty of the series is the little things and the way its all forced into a to short time and that doesnt work
sorry for my english
I was really hoping that this was going to be describing the greatest movie of the summer, making my dreams come true, and presenting me with the keys to the lollypop kingdom. It's a pity because I so wanted this film to work. Oh well. I'll probably just ignore it and stick with the animated series.
Based on Bob's review, and what I've been reading both here and elsewhere, it sounds like they've encountered the same problem that a lot of filmmakers have when they try to adapt the complex narrative of an ongoing TV show and try to retell it in a fraction of the time. I've never seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, but based on what the fans have been saying here, it sounds the same as if someone tried to take all 36 episodes of Robotech: The Macross Saga and tell it in about 90 minutes.
Oh wait! [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross:_Do_You_Remember_Love%3F]They did.[/a]
And from I remember, I had pretty much the same reaction to DYRL that fans of AtLA (or Bob at least) are having with this movie: It's pretty to look at, but otherwise it's a nigh-incomprehensible mess that would really only make sense if you watched the show it was actually based on.
I had no interest before in watching the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, but after reading all about it here, I do now. If M. Night Shyama-lama-ding-dong (my favorite nickname for him) did nothing else, he'll probably make me want to go out and buy the nice [a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DT1950/ref=s9_simh_gw_p74_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0MEGMPPC4DCGHC1606WY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846]first season collection on DVD[/a] rather than pay him to see his half-assed retelling of it.
Apropos of nothing: Here in Baltimore we had a filmmaker who went by the name of Francis Xavier. He fancied himself another M. Night, but had even less talent if you can believe it. I once saw one of his movies and I'd still like the 90 minutes of my life back that I wasted seeing it!
Oh wait! [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross:_Do_You_Remember_Love%3F]They did.[/a]
And from I remember, I had pretty much the same reaction to DYRL that fans of AtLA (or Bob at least) are having with this movie: It's pretty to look at, but otherwise it's a nigh-incomprehensible mess that would really only make sense if you watched the show it was actually based on.
I had no interest before in watching the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, but after reading all about it here, I do now. If M. Night Shyama-lama-ding-dong (my favorite nickname for him) did nothing else, he'll probably make me want to go out and buy the nice [a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DT1950/ref=s9_simh_gw_p74_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0MEGMPPC4DCGHC1606WY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846]first season collection on DVD[/a] rather than pay him to see his half-assed retelling of it.
Apropos of nothing: Here in Baltimore we had a filmmaker who went by the name of Francis Xavier. He fancied himself another M. Night, but had even less talent if you can believe it. I once saw one of his movies and I'd still like the 90 minutes of my life back that I wasted seeing it!
You were very kind to the Last Airbender in this review. Because in all honesty it is a trainwreck. The effects are sub par, the 3D is tacked on after the fact, none of the characters act like themselves.
Seriously. Aang (or should I say Ong) is supposed to be a cheerful optimist who doesn't really want to face his duty as the Avatar. That is pretty much his central conflict for the first two seasons of the show. Instead we have SUPER SERIOUS Ong who gives speeches.
Not to get into the whole racebending thing, but seriously. They couldn't have put Iroh in a fat suit at least? Or had him be even a trifle jolly? Or for that matter, how about NOT having him be a shill for the Fire Lord?
The choreography was poor as well. And Zhao gets taken down by four unnamed waterbending extras who never appeared before, or after, that scene.
This movie is a trainwreck and it's the final nail in the coffin on Shamallamadingdong's career. We can only hope someone locks him away and keeps him from desecrating any other franchises.
Seriously. Aang (or should I say Ong) is supposed to be a cheerful optimist who doesn't really want to face his duty as the Avatar. That is pretty much his central conflict for the first two seasons of the show. Instead we have SUPER SERIOUS Ong who gives speeches.
Not to get into the whole racebending thing, but seriously. They couldn't have put Iroh in a fat suit at least? Or had him be even a trifle jolly? Or for that matter, how about NOT having him be a shill for the Fire Lord?
The choreography was poor as well. And Zhao gets taken down by four unnamed waterbending extras who never appeared before, or after, that scene.
This movie is a trainwreck and it's the final nail in the coffin on Shamallamadingdong's career. We can only hope someone locks him away and keeps him from desecrating any other franchises.
I find that a very odd idea. Because as an adaptation of the franchise the main audience of the movie IS the fans. Making a movie the fans will hate is just alienating your core audience. Also due to the rushed attempt to cover all the material the only people who will have any idea what is going on, are the fans who actually know the series. People unfamiliar with it will just be confused.misterprickly said: